Then & Now: Tappers Pub

Thanks to Clothesline Laundromat and Clover Montessori School for their support.

Here’s a look at Tappers Pub on the corner of Annapolis Street and Stryker Avenue in West St. Paul back in 1960 and today.

American Legion Club: Circa 1960

Here’s a look at the bar circa 1960 when it was known as the American Legion Club:

William Glowe opened one of West St. Paul’s early taverns in about 1906 with Glowe’s Bar at 879 Stryker at the corner of Stryker Avenue and Annapolis Street on the border with St. Paul.

• 1906 – Opened as Glowe’s Bar
• 1919 – John Gibis bought the bar and converted it to a billard hall due to prohibition.
• 1920 – Carmen Ruberto reportedly bought the bar for $6,300 and ran it as a billiards hall and soft drink parlor known as Ruberto’s Saloon (It’s unclear if Carmon bought the bar or Salvatore Ruberto bought it). It also served as a meeting place for the West St. Paul Commercial Club.
• 1933 – With the end of prohibition, William Glowe and his wife Sophie bought the bar back and remained in business until the end of the decade.
• 1947-1952 – City directories list the location as the Stryker Buffet Bar from at least 1947-1952.
• 1954-1968 – Starting in 1954, directories list it as the American Legion Club.
• 1969 – For a year or so it was known as Murphy’s Bar.
• 1970-1974 – Then it was known as the Locker Room Tavern for a short stretch in the early 1970s.
• 1974 – For a stretch from 1974 to around 1986 the location was listed as the Ann-Ker Bar and the Sun-Down Saloon (two bars in one location—perhaps one upstairs and one downstairs?). Joe and Linda Schaefer opened the Ann-Ker Bar in 1974. They operated a series of bars, ending with Moose Country in Lillydale that closed in 2018.
• 1980s – Sometime in the mid- to late-1980s it became just Schwartz’s AnnKer Bar.
• 1994 – By 1994 it became what we know of today as Tappers Pub.

Here’s a look at Tappers Pub from 2008:

Tappers Pub: 2024

Here’s a look at Tappers Pub today with the newly reconstructed Annapolis Street.

These days Tappers is famous for their Coney Island pizza, which includes hot dog slices, ground beef, raw onion, mustard, and cheese.

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